Slam!

From Publishers Weekly
"Myers uses contemporary urban black locutions to relay his view of the mean streets of Harlem and to describe some heart-thumping hoop action in a novel that, like most good sports stories, is about more than just sports," said PW. Ages 12-up. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Greg, nicknamed Slam because of his ability on the basketball court, is the narrator of this street-wise novel. He is one of a small number of blacks who attends the Latimer Arts Magnet School in the Bronx. Though a junior, this is his first year at Latimer; he has problems keeping his grades up, and his basketball coach and some teammates resent his playing style. Along with these struggles, Slam faces some typical teenage woes with the opposite sex, his younger brother, etc., as well as some more serious concerns-a father who drinks too much, drugs on the streets, and a good friend heading for big trouble. Slam's battles both on and off the court parallel one another, demonstrating that easy resolutions to difficult problems are rare. As the book reaches its climax, the young man begins to realize that he needs to approach life like he does basketball, which is a possible start in the right direction. Plenty of high-intensity basketball action and street lingo from the "hood" will appeal to reluctant readers. Once again, Myers produces a book that reinforces his standing as a preeminent YA author. Booktalk this title along with James Bennett's Squared Circle (1995) and David Klass's Danger Zone (1996, both Scholastic) to basketball-minded teens.Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WICopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Greg "Slam" Harris's life revolves around basketball. His game, which is formidable, is the only thing he has control over. Everything outside of the court is a struggle: His marks are slipping; the basketball coach in his new school benches him for his attitude; and he's afraid his friend, Ice, is dealing drugs. Myers's book reflects difficulties faced by young kids when their dreams are all they have to hold onto, and they're forced to grow up too soon. Thomas Penny's narration ably presents the voices of Slam's teachers, with their snide, preaching, and ultimately hopeful messages, and shines when Slam goes after his dream. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Gr. 8^-12. On the basketball court, 17-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris is in control. His disciplined body does what he tells it, the ball becomes an extension of his arms, and his powerful legs allow him to elevate above the chaos at ground level. Off the court, however, order is elusive and elevation rarely possible: his grandmother is in the hospital, possibly dying; he has trouble fitting in at the predominantly white high school he attends; his grades are sinking ever lower; and his best friend from the neighborhood may be dealing crack. We've heard this story many times before, but Myers does a good job of rescuing his characters from stereotype. His descriptions of Slam on the court, feeling the ball's grain on his fingertips as his hands clear the rim, use crisp details, not flowery language, to achieve their muscular poetry, and Myers is equally vivid in relating the torment Slam feels as he stares at a page of indecipherable algebra formulas. Although Myers' message about one's responsibility for making life's hard choices occasionally feels a bit forced, rather than growing naturally from the story, he wisely avoids the heavily inspirational, Rocky-style finale common to so many sports novels. "Sometimes I think you guys are just heartbreaks waiting to happen," Slam's girlfriend Mtisha tells him at the end, providing a sobering coda to this admirably realistic coming-of-age novel. Bill Ott


From Kirkus Reviews
A Harlem teenager learns how to apply the will he has to win at hoops to other parts of his life in this vivid, fluent story from Myers (Toussaint L'Ouverture, p. 1472, etc.). Greg ``Slam'' Harris is justly proud of his game, but he realizes that NBA daydreams don't cut it in the classrooms of his new South Bronx magnet school- -and that the tough talk that serves him so well on the street only gets his teachers and his college-bound girlfriend, Mtisha, on his case. Writing in a rolling, fast- break style that sounds so authentic that the absence of rough language is hardly noticeable, Myers brilliantly captures the pace and feel of inner city life as he climbs into the shoes of an angry, confused young man watching his friends making right or wrong turns, and wondering about his own direction. The author plots with rare skill: Slam simultaneously works to mend fences with Mtisha, nerves himself to find out whether his suddenly prosperous main man, Ice, has turned to dealing, and leads the school's unprepossessing team through a series of exciting games to a conference championship. Few writers can match Myers for taut, savvy basketball action, and in those scenes he's at the top of his form. Some loose ends may stay untied, but Slam, after hearing his assistant coach's comment that not all games end at the buzzer, is beginning to find a way to make his pride work for, rather than against, him. Persuasive. (Fiction. 12-15) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball.



Card catalog description
Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.


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"Basketball is my thing. I can hoop. Case closed...You can take my game to the bank and wait around for the interest...But without the ball, without the floorboards under my feet, without the mid-court line that takes me halfway home, you can get to me." Greg "Slam" Harris knows himself; as narrator, he has been to the end of this book, taken what he needed from his experiences, and come back to share his story with his reader. Slam is a junior in the visual arts program at Latimer, a New York City magnet school. He is struggling everywhere, including on the basketball court, where he assumes he knows more than anyone. After successive run-ins with the principal and the coach, he is fortunate to acquire as mentor Assistant Coach Goldstein. "Goldy" helps Slam see that the skills and maturity he usually brings to his game are also worth developing in the rest of his life. Slam is wary of the temptations on every corner in Harlem, steady in his relationships with his family and his girl, concerned about his friends, and, after nearly throwing it all away, willing to work hard to get what he wants. He interacts with his family and friends with a light humor that underscores the seriousness of the world in which they live. The author of Hoops (Delacorte, 1981) and The Outside Shot (Delacorte, 1984) puts the reader at the games and in the 'hood through Slam's descriptions. Open to any page, and let Myers' skill with words pull you into the story. Slam! will fly off the shelves into the hands of basketball fans, and will give them a lot more than a game. VOYA Codes: 5Q 5P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12). Read all 6 "From The Critics" >


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